Compress PDF
Reduce the file size of your PDF. Choose the smallest size, a balance, or the highest quality.
Select PDF file
or drop PDF here
Files are processed securely in your browser.
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How to compress a PDF without uploading it
Large PDF files are a hassle to email or upload to a form with a size limit. Arcanize shrinks them on your own device instead of sending them to the cloud.
The compressor lowers the resolution of images inside the PDF and rewrites the file more efficiently. You choose how aggressive it should be.
Private: Your file is compressed on your device and never uploaded.
You choose the trade-off: Pick the smallest size, a balanced result or the highest quality.
No watermark: The compressed PDF is yours, with nothing stamped on it.
Compress a PDF in 4 steps
- Click Select File and choose the PDF you want to shrink, or drop it onto the page.
- Choose a compression level: Extreme for the smallest file, Recommended for a balance, or High Quality for printing.
- Click Compress PDF and wait for it to finish.
- Click Download File to save the smaller PDF.
Good to know
- One PDF at a time.
- The first run takes longer because your browser downloads the compression engine (up to 14 MB). The compression itself happens on your device.
- Very large files can take a while. Processing stops after two minutes.
- Scanned and photo-heavy PDFs shrink the most. PDFs that are mostly text are already small and may barely change.
- You cannot set an exact target such as 100 KB. Start with Extreme and check the result.
- Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first.
Frequently asked questions
Which compression level should I choose?
Extreme reduces images to roughly screen resolution and gives the smallest file. Recommended keeps images clear enough for reading on a screen. High Quality keeps images sharp enough for printing, so the file stays larger.
How do I compress a PDF to 100 KB or 200 KB?
Choose Extreme and check the size of the result. How small a PDF can get depends on what is inside it: a few pages of text can drop under 100 KB, while a long scanned document may not get that small without becoming hard to read.
Will compression make the text blurry?
Typed text stays sharp at every level because it is stored as text, not as a picture. Scanned pages are pictures, so Extreme can soften them. Use Recommended if a scan needs to stay easy to read.
Is my PDF uploaded when I compress it?
No. Compression runs in your browser on your own device. The file is not sent to Arcanize or anyone else.
Why did my PDF barely get smaller?
It probably contains mostly text or has already been compressed. There is little left to remove in those files.
Can I compress a PDF on my phone?
Yes. This page works in mobile browsers, and the Arcanize Android app can compress PDFs without an internet connection.
Related PDF tools
- Merge PDF – Combine multiple PDF files into one, in the order you choose.
- Split PDF – Extract the pages you need into a new PDF.
- Unlock PDF – Remove the password from a PDF when you know it.